He also is expected to become a hot property this off-season, with Detroit reportedly among the interested parties. And if Pittsburgh fires Lloyd McClendon, Macha could be lured to return to his hometown to manage the Pirates.

Another candidate expected to receive strong consideration from the Cubs is Arizona bench coach Bob Melvin.

The former catcher served as assistant to general manager Sal Bando in Milwaukee in 1997 before joining Phil Garner's staff as the Brewers' bench coach. He joined the Diamondbacks this season and interviewed for the Brewers' managerial job after Davey Lopes was fired in April.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry will not contact any candidates until he informs Bruce Kimm that he will not be retained for next season. Hendry will meet with Kimm no later than Sunday.

Top of the heap

Baseball America released its Top Prospects list for the 2002 minor-league season.

Right-hander Francis Beltran was rated third among Double-A Southern League prospects. Infielder David Kelton finished a somewhat disappointing 13th.

Other notables were Andrew Sisco, who was named the top prospect in the Northwest League after going 7-2 with a 2.43 ERA at Boise. The 6-foot-9-inch left-hander struck out a league-high 101 batters in 77 2/3 innings.